Dear Mark: Rest Days

Hi Mark,

Do you ever take a rest day? I know Jack LaLanne claims he exercises even when tired and Art DeVany says you should do something every day. Spent last weekend splitting wood and lugging it into the barn and then Monday I did a 6 mile fall foliage hike in the mountains. Tuesday I was too tired to do anything. Today I took another rest day as I struggled getting up for work after 8 hours of sleep. I imagine Grok must have taken rest days where he dozed or just rested in camp after an especially grueling hunt. What’s your opinion on taking a day off?

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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How to Get that Natural Glow

We’re showing a little skin today at MDA. No, it’s not another photo of Mark’s abs, although the last picture did elicit a rousing response. We’re talking glow, color, clarity, tone. Sound like a beauty ad? Well, it certainly could be except for the fact that there’s nothing to “buy” except a healthy primal lifestyle.

Mark advocates the Primal Blueprint for many dimensions of wellness: healthy aging, disease prevention and therapy, physical fitness, sexual health, and mental well-being. But what if it helped you look good too? No need to suddenly feel guilty or vain. (We don’t.) We know you’re in it for the health, and so are we. Consider it the icing on the cake. It’s doubtful any of us are out to be the next cover model on Vogue or GQ (although you never know – anyone?). Nonetheless, who doesn’t want to enjoy a little extra, natural boost?

Posted By: Worker Bee

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How Stress Can Make You Fat

O.K., we acknowledge the title is a bit over the top, but didn’t it get your attention? No, stress alone won’t pack on the pounds, but there’s still truth in them thar’ hills. We thought we’d dig up some of the dirt on stress – fat and otherwise.

The fact is we think stress gets short shrift when it comes to the realm of health and wellness. As you know, we spend a lot of time talking about how our eating and exercising impacts our biochemistry. Stress absolutely, positively plays into this same picture. A great diet and diligent exercise routine are never wasted effort, but chronic high stress can put a serious damper on the benefits you should be getting from your healthy endeavors.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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Dear Mark: Fiber, Fat and Fasting

Weekly Reader Mail

Dear Mark,

I have two questions. My first regards training and rest days. Simply, how many days of complete rest should I take for an entire week? I someone who’s been overweight for most of his pre-teen and teenage life, and who was able to lose that excess weight at 17 (I’m 20 now). My current goal is to “look fit” (and be healthy), which primarily entails eliminating the stubborn fat on my body that have refused to go away. If I’m doing three days of high-intensity interval training, for around 15-20 minutes per day, and three days of 1 hour lifting, for a total of 6 days per week with one day of rest, is that doing too much?

Secondly, where do I get most of my fiber on a primal blueprint diet if most high-fiber vegetables can only be attained sparingly (I’m a poor college student)? I’ve been looking around your site for the answer, and the only thing I’ve read mentioned in passing was flaxseed. If that is your suggestion, where can I buy it? I couldn’t find it in the cereal aisle of my local grocer.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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Sleep More to Forget Less

A study presented this week at the Forum of European Neuroscience conference in Geneva, Switzerland suggests that a good night’s sleep can improve memory.

For the study, researchers from the University of Geneva in Switzerland enlisted 32 volunteers to each learn a new skill, such as following a moving dot on a computer screen using a joy stick. Participants were then divided into two groups: the first was allowed to sleep for eight hours and the second was deprived of sleep or only permitted to take a short nap.

To assess the impact of these sleep patterns on the brain, researchers then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brain activity of participants as they repeated the tasks that they had learned the previous days.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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